Singles of the year: #60

60. The Rat – The Walkmen

Although the sandpaper rasp of the vocal delivery makes it impossible for me to listen to their album at one sitting, The Walkmen certainly put on a cracking live show.

(Not to mention the added attraction of watching the world’s sweatiest bass player ever melt before your eyes, as rivulets of sweat literally pour off the end of his nose and onto his guitar strings. Er, isn’t that a bit dangerous?)

The Rat is an forcefully insistent brute – full to bursting with rage, bile and spleen – which has the ability to bounce around inside your skull for days. It’s also the most ROCK! song on this list, by a country mile.